LED JEWELRY: May 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Gently Led

Posted: 25 May 2013 01:15 AM PDT

The scent met us at the door. Mildew. Africa dirt. The faint wisps of Omo soap that remained on the dusty linens. The children's ecstatic squeals reverberated around me. We were home. Again. We had much to accomplish in the space of just a few hours. We all uncovered furniture and beds and I scratched together some semblance of dinner before we would all succumb to the

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Gently Led

Grateful

Posted: 12 May 2013 02:00 AM PDT

I am so thankful. For my own Mom. And my grandmothers. And my sister. And my Cashlings. And all those amazing Moms who I have been blessed to walk alongside in this life. I also so deeply esteem those who experience motherhood from longing. Who still wait for this journey to begin. Who may have heard 'No' far too many times. Who may have recently lost. You are so beautiful and

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Gently Led

Posted: 11 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT

School cafeterias have a very distinguishing smell. Like no other place in the world. My junior high was no exception. Salisbury steaks, burritos (questionable), hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. The unmistakable aroma of paper lunch sacks and bananas that have browned in a locker for half a day. I can remember the smell and the sounds of that large echoing room,

Perfect Words

Posted: 10 May 2013 11:14 AM PDT

So many words. Commercials and news reports and internet access and blogs and tweets and text messages and Facebook. All the words. All the information. All the time. On one evening of our recent furlough, my husband asked me if I could have anything in the world on that particular evening what would I want and I replied simply, "Silence." He kindly

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Gently Led

Far Away

Posted: 09 May 2013 07:24 AM PDT

(Digging into some archived journaling for this one. I wrote this from one of our furlough respites. The heart of a sojourner is tempered by the farewells--learning more about this everyday as the color and nuance of goodbye continue to augment my life experience.) While perusing pictures online this evening, it dawned on me with a startling abruptness that many of the

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Gently Led

Italy

Posted: 08 May 2013 03:52 AM PDT

We were so blessed to enjoy a stop-over in Italy on our way to America last October. Below are some of my daily journaled thoughts as we relished each moment in Rome, Florence and Cinque Terra. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today I had the best cappuccino I have ever had. On the gorgeous Italian square. Fountain in the center. The air smelled like pizza.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Gently Led

Redirection

Posted: 07 May 2013 07:50 AM PDT

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city…" "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow…." "Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4: 13,14 &15 I enjoy routine. I am not time conscious (if you listen carefully you can hear my husband chuckling at this

Monday, May 6, 2013

Gently Led

Stormy Weather

Posted: 06 May 2013 02:00 AM PDT

My Mam-ma always said it just this way: "Got my walk in today." Even if Granddaddy was with her, or her grandkids tagged along, it was 'my walk'. The two words kind of squished together in that comforting West Texas way. I hear those words, her words, in my head when I say this now too. And I am amazed again at how far from my childhood I am and yet simple phrases and

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Gently Led

On Lattes and Listing and Thanks

Posted: 05 May 2013 07:19 AM PDT

Thank You. Two very important words. For the one who says them and the one who hears them. I often neglect the public listing of my furlough thanks. Over the past months we have been graced with many mercies from dearest family, friends and even complete strangers. Saying thank you is so important and I love to do it. And yet, I often let the fear of leaving someone

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Gently Led

To Pause

Posted: 04 May 2013 05:22 AM PDT

Heathrow. So many people. Business travelers. Tourists. Families. Large groups. Lone travelers. Hurried and frantic. Or exhausted and still. Different skin colors. And fashion tastes. So many souls and stories marching past our bleary eyed gazing. We have safely reached London and wait for the next leg of our journey. I sit among the movement taking in the